CROATIA AND BOSNIA DISCUSS USE OF PLOCE PORT, PASSAGE THROUGH NEUM

ZAGREB, Oct 14 (Hina) - Delegations of Croatia and Bosnia- Herzegovina met in Zagreb on Tuesday to discuss the use of the southern Croatian Adriatic port of Ploce for the economic purposes of the Bosnian Federation. The Croatian delegation was headed by Foreign Minister Mate Granic and the Bosnian delegation was led by Chairman of the Council of Ministers Neven Tomic. Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Ljerka Mintas-Hodak told reporters after the meeting that the delegations presented their starting positions. "Croatia wants to conclude a permanent agreement on the use of the port of Ploce and on passage through Neum within the framework of an agreement on special relations with the Federation of Bosnia- Herzegovina," Mintas-Hodak said. The town of Neum is situated south of Ploce, on a short stretch of the Adriatic coast which belongs to the Bosnian Federation. The future agreement on the use of Ploce port should regulate unimpeded passage through that territory. At a meeting in Split in August, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Bosnian Presidency Chairman Alija Izetbegovic agreed that an agreement should be drafted to define relations between Croatia and the Bosnian Federation. Mintas-Hodak said that Croatia would present solutions to those issues in the draft agreement with which it was not satisfied after the Bosnian side clearly defined demands for the use of the port of Ploce for the purposes of its economy. An American working group led by Louis Sell drafted the agreement in conformity with a joint statement from the Split meeting and previous agreements. Mintas-Hodak said that Croatia was not satisfied with parts of the US proposal referring to the use of the port itself and the free trade zone, the management of that zone and the way of solving disputes. "We propose that it be one zone which would be jointly managed and which would serve both the Bosnian and Croatian economy, including commodities and shipments from third countries passing through the port," Mintas-Hodak said. Croatia also proposed that in the event of different interpretation of the future agreement, the final decision should be passed by the Council for Cooperation between the Bosnian Federation and Croatia, she added. Tomic said that the Bosnian side adhered to the position it had taken at previous meetings on the implementation of the part of the Washington agreement referring to free access to the sea and transit through Neum. That part was signed within the framework of the Washington accords on establishing confederal ties between the Bosnian Federation and Croatia. Tomic said that the basic confederal agreement later experienced substantial changes in the Dayton agreement which resulted in different views of Croatia and the Bosnian Federation on the use of Ploce port. Tomic said that Croatia promised to submit to the Council of Ministers, i.e. the Bosnian central government, a draft agreement on relations between Croatia and the Bosnian Federation that would provide a framework for adopting an agreement on the port of Ploce. "As regards the agreement on access to the sea and passage through Neum, we have not made much progress," Bosnian Foreign Trade Minister Hasan Muratovic said. "We accept the American version of the agreement as a basis for talks, but the Croatian side has taken a clear stand that it does not accept that version as a basis for talks and that it will present its proposals for those articles of the agreement with which it does not agree at the next meeting," Muratovic said. According to the American draft, a customs zone would be set up in the port of Ploce according to Bosnian Federation laws, which would be in contravention of Croatian sovereignty over that port. Head of the American working group Louis Sell expressed disappointment at the failure of the parties to make more progress towards an agreement. We are expecting Croatian and Bosnian proposals, and I suppose that they will help us make faster progress towards an agreement, Sell said. "It is certain that an agreement on Ploce and Neum cannot be signed before basic elements of special relations with the Federation have been articulated," Croatian Economy Minister Nenad Porges said. The talks will resume in two weeks' time in Sarajevo. (hina) vm jn 142200 MET oct 97